


A Piece of the Past

by MarvelousMenagerie (HiddenOne)



Series: 2020 Tony Stark Bingo [13]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Flashbacks, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Minor Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, undercover cop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24007768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenOne/pseuds/MarvelousMenagerie
Summary: It had been so many years since Bucky had gone undercover in the Stark family's mob, he thought he'd gotten away clean.Then Tony Stark slid into the seat across from him at his breakfast diner, and Bucky's boss has a new case for him.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: 2020 Tony Stark Bingo [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598911
Comments: 57
Kudos: 414
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, StarkBucksBingo2020, Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	A Piece of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> For the Tony Stark Bingo square K5 - flashbacks  
> Creator # : 3036  
> For Bucky Barnes Bingo square Y3 - Peggy Carter  
> For Starkbucks Bingo square G2 - Past
> 
> Note: in the flashbacks Tony is 17/18 while Bucky is in his mid-twenties.  
> This was inspired by my favorite NCIS fic [Honor Thy Father](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7439266/1/Honor-Thy-Father) by Tonyandtheboys (on ff.net)

“Ugh, put that face away.” Bucky gave Steve a disgusted grimace and then went back to fixing his coffee.

“What? This is my face,” Steve protested as he slid into the booth opposite of Bucky.

Their waiter came over and set a cup of coffee in front of Steve. 

“Thanks, Quill,” Steve said with a grateful nod. 

“I’ll be back in a minute for your orders. Stay away from the omelets today - Drax isn’t having the best of luck with them,” Peter Quill informed them before he was moving on to his next table.

“That’s every week, isn’t it?” Steve commented softly as he perused the menu. 

The Galaxy Diner had become their weekly breakfast spot of choice, ever since Steve had accepted a transfer to another division. Bucky missed working alongside Steve in the Organized Crime Division of the FBI, but he was happy for Steve too. Steve seemed to enjoy the work in Public Corruption, and the transfer meant that Steve could see Peggy Carter, the supervisor of the Organized Crime Division, without anyone poking their noses in their relationship.

But the transfer did mean that Bucky had to see Steve’s just-had-morning-sex face. 

“Seems like it. Can you fix your -” Bucky gestured to his own face before he took a sip of coffee. “I don’t want to see that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Steve flipped the menu up higher so that it blocked him from Bucky’s view.

“You and Peggy, doing the do and making me witness your whole smug thing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bucky didn’t have to see Steve to know that a red flush would be creeping up his neck.

“Then maybe I shouldn’t tell you that you have a hickey on your neck.”

Steve cleared his throat and set down the menu. His face was bright red, just as Bucky expected.

“Excuse me, for a moment,” Steve said and then slid out of the booth. “I need to use the restroom.”

“Uh huh.” Bucky smirked. “You do that.”

Bucky turned back to his menu, debating whether to stick with the classic one-of-everything plate, his usual, or try one of the seasonal choices. The omelet would sound good if it wasn’t Drax in charge of them. He always burned the edges.

“You’re looking fabulous today, Special Agent Barnes.”

A man slipped into Steve’s seat, and Bucky tensed. He faked calmness as he set the menu down and raised an eyebrow.

He slipped his hands into his lap and made for his phone and his gun. Just in case.

“Can I help you?” 

“Oh yes, with several things I imagine.” The man smiled, and Bucky would have an easier time telling if it was friendly or malicious if the man’s eyes weren’t covered by reflective aviators. 

As it was, Bucky’s own blank face stared back at him. 

“Since I know you’re quite capable,” the man purred as he leaned over.

His hands were flat on the table, perfectly framing Jupiter that was lacquered on the tabletop, so Bucky worried less about reaching for his gun. Bucky focused on subtly pulling the phone out of his pocket. 

“I’m flattered.” Bucky flashed a fake smile. “Who’s been speaking my praises?”

The man’s smile grew even larger and Bucky tried not to bristle.

“You don’t recognize me.” He sounded humored rather than surprised, and Bucky wracked his memory. “What tragedy, what heartbreak. I can’t believe I could be that forgettable.”

The man reached up and pulled off his sunglasses. He gave Bucky another wide grin, his brown eyes warm and humored.

“Just how many families have you destroyed in your career, detective? Oh, excuse me. Special Agent.”

“Tony,” Bucky greeted numbly. 

* * *

“I don’t believe it.”

Bucky did his best not to tense. He’d already passed the vetting of the goons on the street and then the guards out front. He was just one guy in a line of seven, wanting a job even if it wasn’t quite an ‘honest’ day’s work. His cover wasn’t going to be blown by a kid, even if this kid was Howard’s son - or at least, Bucky hoped the kid wasn’t about to blow his cover. 

Bucky’s career was on the line for this, or at least his detective badge. Plus, the department had put six months of planning and resources behind this operation. Bucky couldn’t fail, not in the first five minutes of being able to walk inside the Stark Mansion. 

The kid stood in front of Bucky, his arms crossed and lips twisted.

“You’re too pretty to want to be one of my Dad’s goons. What are you really doing here?”

Bucky laughed and hoped it didn’t come out too relieved. 

“Thanks, doll.” Bucky winked at him, even though he got the side-eye from one of Stark’s actual goons. “But streets are dangerous nowadays, and I don’t want to live on ‘em. Getting a job with the Starks will keep a roof over my head and save my pretty face from being bashed in one of these days. Smart plan, don’t you think?”

The son, Tony, rolled his eyes. He was seventeen, almost eighteen, but already finished with his college degree. Kid or not, Bucky would have to watch his step with this one. 

Tony frowned and shook his head, though now Bucky could recognize the teasing. 

“I don’t know, maybe we need to kick you out until you pick up a scar or something.”

Then Howard strode into the room, barking out orders, and Bucky watched as Tony’s body went as taut as a bowstring. 

“New recruits?” Howard eyed them with clear distaste. “My advice? Don’t come to my attention unless you’ve done something spectacular.”

Howard didn’t acknowledge his son before striding off. 

Tony waited until Howard was definitely gone for sure before he muttered his own advice.

“Don’t even try to get his attention. You’ll never be good enough.”

* * *

“Oh look, you do remember. Full marks.” Tony even clapped, drawing attention of the nearby customers.

Peter zoomed over immediately with a wide, fake smile. “I didn’t realize someone else would be joining you. Can I get you anything?” 

Peter’s tone was chipper but his gaze was assessing, which matched what Bucky would expect from a diner so close to the Bureau. 

“He’s not staying,” Bucky answered.

“A coffee, please. Unless - well, this one is already here,” Tony said as he picked up Steve’s coffee. “Hasn’t been tampered with yet, even. Just how I like it.”

“That’s Steve’s coffee.” Bucky waved Peter away. Bucky didn't want to involve anyone else, since obviously Tony had a plan. 

That case had been a lifetime ago, but Bucky never should’ve stopped looking over his shoulder.

“Steve!” Tony brightened, all sparkle and flash and nothing genuine, and it set Bucky’s teeth on edge. “I can’t wait to meet the famous  _ Stevie _ .”

Suddenly Steve was there, standing over them. 

“Then I guess it’s your lucky day.” Steve put his hands on his hips, which pulled his jacket back to reveal his badge and gun. “Except you’re in my seat and holding my coffee, so I’m not feeling too kindly toward you right now.”

Tony took a sip of the coffee as he looked Steve up and down. He whistled when he finally made it all the way back up to Steve’s gaze again. 

Bucky grit his teeth and forced himself to not shove the entire table over at Tony. He had a right to be angry, with Tony tracking him down here and possibly plotting vengeance, but that was all he was allowed.

The rest of Bucky’s emotions that were bubbling in his chest needed to go away. 

“Wow. You know, your friend over here does you  _ no _ favors when he talks about you.” Tony gave Steve another leer. “I expected someone a lot smaller.”

Bucky had shared those stories not with the Stark family but with Tony, only Tony. And those stories about Steve, Stevie, his childhood friend had been true - with a few details changed so that they matched Bucky’s background story about where he grew up. 

Steve had been a shrimp when he was a kid. Bucky hadn’t lied.

Well, Bucky hadn’t lied about  _ that _ .

“Well, Bucky never mentioned you,” Steve replied coolly. 

“Aw, James.” Tony’s gaze flicked back to him, and Bucky tensed in preparation. “Why are you so modest? You should be bragging from the rooftops about what you did.”

Bucky held Tony’s gaze as he caught Steve up. “This is Tony Stark.”

Steve sucked in a breath. 

“Yeah, I’m that Stark.” Tony’s grin was a mile wide.

* * *

Bucky was poking around where he wasn’t supposed to. He had a lie about taking a wrong turn, which was actually sort of true, on his hunt for the file that Sitwell wanted. 

Sitwell hadn’t even known where the damn file he wanted was, saying that maybe Rumlow had it - and Rumlow didn’t have it - which actually worked out well for Bucky doing a bit of snooping. Everyone in the department had been in awe about how quickly Bucky was moving up the food chain, and while file-hunting was a dumb gopher task - Sitwell had smirked when he’d given the order - it would give Bucky the opporunity to get a peek at that file before handing it over. 

Account numbers, network connections. Maybe the piece of the puzzle that connected the Starks to that bump of weapons trafficking on the docks .

If only Bucky could get a moment alone with that file. 

He didn’t find the file. He found Tony instead, alone in a workshop with scattered bits and pieces everywhere.

“You aren’t supposed to be down here,” Tony said, though he didn’t seem too concerned. “But since you’re here, don’t suppose you could give me a hand, pretty boy?”

Bucky huffed and ventured over. 

“Hold this,” Tony directed. 

And that was it. Bucky held a small piece of thin metal in place while Tony danced around it with a soldering iron.

“There it is. Perfect, look at those steady hands. Guess you are good for more than looking at, huh?” Tony pulled back, shoving goggles up his face. He motioned for Bucky to back away, and so he did. 

“My Ma will be proud,” Bucky drawled. 

“She should be.” Tony grinned, and there was joy behind it that had Bucky surprised. “I mean, I’m going to be able to replace you and your steady hands in a week once the code finishes compiling and I finish up the last bit of my robotic arm, but yes, your ‘Ma’ should be proud.”

“Robotic arm?” Bucky slipped before he could catch himself. He should be interested, but not too interested. He took a wrong turn, he should be getting back to finding that file - 

Except Tony lit up like Bucky had just told him Christmas came early. 

“Yeah, I did say that. Come on, let me show you the schematics. He won’t have as pretty a face as yours, but that’s alright. He’ll have better hands. Or, well, hand.”

“Hey now,” Bucky protested even though he wasn’t the least bit offended. 

He’d had a dream of becoming an engineer as a kid, though he never regretted his choice of going into law enforcement. The job fit him better, and he enjoyed it, even if he did get a bit wistful when he watched episodes of Robot Wars on TV. 

“Or, I mean,” Tony pulled back for a second. “If you have time? You probably have stuff to do, all you henchman have one -”

“I’ve got a few minutes if you don’t mind.” Bucky absolutely wanted to see those schematics if Tony was willing to show him. 

Tony smiled again, a small genuine thing that warmed Bucky’s heart. 

Bucky didn’t want to think about Tony being involved in all the dealings that he knew were going down with the Stark Family. It was possible, with Tony’s intellect and age, that Tony played a role even if he still looked like a baby-faced kid. 

Still, either way, it probably helped the overall mission if Bucky got close to the Stark kid. 

If Bucky got close to Tony. 

“I’m James,” he said, offering his hand to shake. “But it ain’t so bad if you want to keep calling me pretty boy. Good for the ego.”

Tony smiled and accepted the handshake. “Tony, though I’m sure you’ve been fully debriefed on all the fun family politics. But here, let me introduce you to the newest member. DUM-E.”

* * *

“What happened to you?” Bucky asked softly. 

Tony hadn’t gone down for any of his family’s crimes. Whether it was because Tony actually was clean, or had managed to hide his own tracks, Bucky couldn’t say. He would never be sure. 

Tony’s grin didn’t lose any of its sharp points. “Oh, I think the much more interesting question is what’s happened to you. The brilliant detective who took down the Stark Family Mob almost single-handedly. Of course you’re in the FBI now and with Organized Crimes. You must feel right at  _ home _ .”

* * *

Bucky followed Sitwell and Rumlow up the stairs, his heart in his throat. 

He’d been in and out of the Stark Mansion plenty of times now, but only the ground level and the basement for general business. And, well, there was Tony’s workshop that Bucky spent too much time in. But the upper floors of the Mansion were exclusively reserved for the family and the inner circle. 

There was a party tonight on the second floor, and Bucky was invited. He was in, though something that bothered him about the date. There was something he was supposed to remember. Was it a deal that was about to go down, or just an old case file that haunted him?

It didn’t matter much now. He was here, and he needed to focus. 

Bucky was officially in the inner circle of the Stark Family Mob. 

“Welcome, gentlemen, welcome,” Obadiah Stane greeted as soon as they stepped into the room. 

He was a large and imposing figure, and Bucky had always tried to keep his distance. He couldn’t now, as Stane rested a heavy hand on Bucky’s shoulder and squeezed. 

“Drinks are over there,” Stane said, waving away Sitwell and Rumlow. 

Stane steered Bucky in a different direction. 

“You, young buck, have had quite the rise of fame, eh?” Stane said. He reached into his jacket pocket and Bucky had a flash of knowing that he was made, Stane was going to kill him, before he collected himself.

Stane never did his own dirty work. 

“Cigar?” Stane offered as he pulled out a box. “They’re Cuban.”

“No thank you. I don’t smoke.”

“Good on you, boy.” Stane patted his shoulder, jarring Bucky almost completely off-balance. “Filthy habit, and all, but a man’s got to have a vice, am I right?”

Stane laughed, saving Bucky from answering. He smiled, or at least tried to.

Stane stuck the cigar into the corner of his mouth and grinned at Bucky. 

“Now, I just want you to know, I got my eye on you. I like how you operate. You keep doing what you’re doing, and I might have something special planned for you. Really prove yourself to me. To the family, right?”

Bucky swallowed against his dry throat. 

“Like what?”

Stane laughed again and smacked Bucky’s shoulder. “That’s the kind of initiative I like to see! Isn’t that right, Maria?”

Bucky had been too busy trying to follow Stane’s trail of thought, he hadn’t paid enough attention to where Stane was steering him. 

It was to the Starks. Howard, Maria, and Tony, all put together perfectly like they were the cover of a fashion magazine. 

Maria’s grin was stark-white against her ruby-red lipstick, her eyes the warm brown of her son’s. Bucky had never seen her before, but he now saw Tony in her face. 

“Oh Obie, is this the one you were telling us about?” Maria clasped her hands, demure and articulate and graceful. The perfect wife, put on display. “It’s so lovely to meet you. Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you,” Bucky said, trying to keep calm and not look like he was finding it difficult to breathe. 

He’d had his detective badge for eight months and now he was talking to Howard and Maria Stark. He couldn’t blow this. 

“You have a lovely home,” Bucky tried with a smile. 

Howard’s gaze was piercing as it landed on Bucky. He tried not to fidget. The advice from Howard’s first day came back to him. Don’t come to my attention.

“You’re part of the family now, so please. Make yourself at home.” Howard flashed a welcoming grin, the switch from piercing to charming so instantaneous that Bucky’s head threatened to spin. 

“Thank you.”

Then suddenly the spotlight was off Bucky. Stane let go of Bucky and wrapped an arm around Howard's shoulders, redirecting his attention, and all Bucky had to do was acknowledge Howard’s nod before he was free. Maria stepped aside to greet another guest, a perfect smile still on her face, and Bucky could breathe again. 

“Hey, let me give you a tour?” Tony said. He gave Bucky a hopeful smile, all wide eyes and smoothed back curls. 

Bucky remembered, suddenly, exactly what was so special about this date.

“I’d hate to monopolize the birthday boy.”

Tony brightened, his face practically glowing. “Thanks! I mean, obviously this party is for more important reasons and everything.” Tony waved a hand that encapsulated the rest of the room, which was filled with the mob and no one else. “But I can pretend. And hey, no one is going to card me here.”

“Still. You get a cake, right? Birthdays need cake.”

“There’s one in the kitchen.” Tony’s smile was still too hopeful. “Want to go sneak a slice with me?”

Bucky hesitated. This party was an important opportunity for him to gain information about all the guys who were running the games in the Stark family. He should mingle.

But Bucky couldn’t deny Tony, especially on his birthday. 

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Later, in the kitchen, with frosting smeared all over his jacket and his stomach full of too much cake, Bucky collapsed onto the table in a fit of giggles as Tony recounted a story from college. Bucky’s humor was partially from the story and partially from the elaborate frosting goatee that he’d smeared onto Tony’s face. 

“Well, you’ve definitely made yourself at home.” 

Bucky jerked up and found Stane looming in the doorway. 

“Well he was invited,” Tony said. “Cake?” 

Stane shook his head, a genial smile on his fact that Bucky didn’t trust. “No, I’ll leave that to you two. Just wanted to drop off a gift for the birthday boy.”

Stane held out a bottle of whiskey, and  Bucky swallowed his judgement. A bottle of whiskey for an eighteen year old?

But Tony’s smile was appreciative as he gave Stane his thanks. “Stay and have a glass?”

“I’ve got to get back up there,” Stane demurred. “But have fun now.” He winked at Bucky and left.

“You can head back, if you want.” Tony wet a towel and wiped the frosting off his face. “Sorry for dragging you away for so long.”

“Don’t be,” Bucky said, watching as Tony aged in front of his eyes. 

It was in the way he held himself. More controlled, now, with Stane’s brief appearance. Tony grabbed two short glasses from the cupboard and motioned to the whiskey bottle on the table. 

“Just one drink?”

Bucky nodded. He tossed his frosting-smeared jacket aside, and rolled up his sleeves. Hopefully the party was late enough that when Bucky stepped back up no one would notice his casual appearance.

Tony poured them both a generous helping of whiskey. 

“To the birthday boy,” Bucky toasted as he clinked their glasses together.

Tony snorted. “To the deal, you mean.”

“No, I don’t.” Bucky drank the whiskey like a shot.

He was probably supposed to notice something about the taste. He was sure Stane would pick out something terribly expensive that had some sort of aged, smokey flavor, but all Bucky knew was the fire in his throat. 

Tony laughed. “I think this is the kind you sip ostentatiously,” he said and took a pointed sip of his glass.

“Oops.” Bucky grinned, letting that fire burn down into his stomach. “Can’t take me anywhere.”

“Oh, I’d take you somewhere.” 

Bucky didn’t know how to respond. He just watched as Tony tilted his glass up and downed the rest of his whiskey. 

“That bother you?” Tony asked, smooth as anything.

“Not the word I’d use,” Bucky said carefully. He didn’t move as Tony slid closer to him. 

“Well then.” Tony was pressing against him now, his fingers playing with the buttons on Bucky’s shirt. “Why don’t you stay a bit, and make yourself at home?”

Tony leaned up to kiss him, and Bucky didn’t stop him. 

Bucky kissed back. 

* * *

He never told Steve that part. He never told anyone about that kiss, as it would only bring Bucky’s entire testimony under suspicion. Especially since Bucky had never made it back to the rest of the party that night, and he’d had to do some fancy footwork with the lies to explain why he hadn’t come back with more information. 

It hadn’t mattered much in the end. Bucky had gotten his hands on a flash drive with the shipping itinerary and the accounts connected to the weapons trafficking with Russia. His captain had kicked the case up the chain, and a joint task force of FBI and Interpol had staged a raid.

Bucky had been extracted, clean. So many of the family went down that night that his disappearance was nothing. 

Though all of Bucky’s effort didn’t get any of the Starks in jail. Nothing could be tied directly to Howard, Maria, or Tony. But it wasn’t long after that Howard and Maria died in a car accident. Tony disappeared, and the Stark Family Mob was no more. 

Bucky had transferred out of New York City with nothing but a note in his file about his involvement. He’d looked over his shoulder for years, wondering if Rumlow or Rollins or Sitwell would figure it out, find a way to contact someone on the outside, and set up a hit on him. 

It hadn’t happened. Nothing had happened. Not until Tony Stark slid into the seat across from him, and maybe Bucky should've known that if anyone was going to find him again it would be Tony. 

“Yeah, I think my experience comes in handy,” Bucky told Tony coolly. 

He’d been back in New York City and working for the FBI for over five years now. He wasn’t about to get chased out of his home again, not when Tony didn’t have a mob behind him.

“Oh, I just bet.” Tony took a long sip of coffee, staring at Bucky over the edge of the rim. 

Steve fidgeted.

“Tell me,  _ Bucky _ .” Tony wrinkled his nose at the nickname. “Do you get all your flash drives of information in the same way?”

“Not unless you have any more to give me.” Bucky kept his face placid. 

* * *

“I don’t know why you want in on it.” Tony sniffed. “I’m telling you, I’ve got some designs and they’re so much better than that Russian crap. If only my Dad would listen for once!”

“It ain’t about the weapons. It’s - I want to prove myself, to your family.”

Tony shook his head. “You can’t impress Dad. I swear it’s impossible.”

“I know, doll.” Bucky kissed Tony’s forehead. “But the rest of them. Even you, a little bit. Let me show off, huh? I can do this.”

Tony sighed, but he was smiling. “Okay. I’ll get you something.”

"Thank you." Bucky kissed Tony's mouth this time. 

* * *

How Bucky had gotten the flash drive also hadn’t been in his report. 

“Why are you here, Mr. Stark?” Steve was still standing, hands on his hips, glaring at Tony. 

Tony grimaced. “Ugh, don’t call me that.”

There was the clack of heels on the floor, and Bucky’s spine instinctively straightened. 

“Then what form of address would you prefer?” Peggy’s crisp cool voice pulled Tony’s attention. 

“Tony. You must be Supervisory Special Agent Carter.” Tony beamed at her, suddenly full of charm.

“I am. And I see introductions have already been made, which makes this more efficient. Though I will admit I am surprised, Mr. Stark. I didn’t expect to see you for three hours, and then in my office at that.” 

Peggy took a seat next to Tony, boxing him into the booth. Tony went rigid. She then motioned for Steve to sit, adding a glare when he hesitated.

Steve sat down next to Bucky. 

“Mr. Quill! Coffee’s for the table, and I don’t think you gentlemen have had breakfast yet, it appears,” Peggy ordered.

“No thanks,” Bucky said, pushing the menu away. “Just the coffee.”

Steve seconded just the coffee, though Tony sighed. “I’m hungry, if anyone cares.”

“Mr. Stark,” Peggy started.

“Tony,” Tony insisted.

“Mr. Stark,” Peggy took care to enunciate. “I think you have misread the situation. You have crashed my agent’s breakfast, upset the entire diner, and made me terribly unhappy. You have thirty seconds to explain why I should not kick you off this case.”

Peter set down the extra coffees for Peggy and Steve and then scurried away. 

“Case?” Bucky’s gaze darted between Peggy and Tony, who were currently in a staring contest.

“What case?” Steve echoed. 

Tony shrugged. “You can’t do this without me.” He took a sip of coffee. “As simple as that.” His gaze flicked to Bucky, and for the first time Tony seemed serious. “You didn’t get Stane.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Bucky snapped. Bucky rubbed his shoulder. He could still remember how Stane liked to squeeze, all these years later.

Tony watched him. “The case gives you a second shot.”

“Excuse me,” Peggy said firmly. “What I would have briefed you on this morning had we not had this interruption, is that Mr. Stark claims to have information about Obadiah Stane and his connections to Hydra.”

Bucky’s lips curled at the mention of Hydra. He hated the mob that was slowly, block by block, taking over the city. Bucky was sure that was because there were political ties up high, and Steve was keeping an eye out. 

“Exactly. This could be a way in,” Peggy said with a curt nod. 

“What’s in it for you?” Steve asked Tony. 

Tony took a long sip of coffee, draining the cup. He eyed Steve’s full one, and Steve wrapped a protective hand around it. 

“Fame and glory.” Tony smiled wide.

Bucky snorted, but Steve frowned.

“You can’t go after a group like Hydra like this. Not if this is the guy who’s going to be feeding you information. You can’t trust him.”

“Oh, I’m not saying we trust him,” Peggy replied calmly. “I’m saying we use him.”

“Why are you doing this, Tony?” Bucky asked. “Why now, what changed?”

Tony looked out the window for such a long moment that Bucky didn’t think he’d answer the question, but then Tony cleared his throat. 

“I recently came into some information of my own. It wasn’t a car accident that killed my parents. Well, it wasn’t an accident. Stane ordered the hit.”

Bucky took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Tony.”

Tony snorted. “Right, of course you are. You’re sorry my mob parents got killed, that’s a good one.” Tony rubbed his face. “But Obie was -”

“Family,” Bucky inserted.

He’d been out of that family for years. Over the course of his life, that mission had been nothing more than a blip. 

And yet here it was, back again, and Bucky could remember it like it was yesterday. He remembered what it had been like. It hadn’t even been all bad, though it was the mob. 

It was another part that he could never tell Steve.

“Like you were.” Tony chuckled. “So that worked out well for us, didn’t it? He tried to track me down, after their funerals, but I just - left. I’m sure he assumes I died in a gutter years ago.”

“So your informant is on a mission for vengeance with nothing left to lose and you want to go after Hydra and a guy who would remember Bucky from the Stark take down.” Steve’s words were cold. “Seriously, Peggy.”

She raised one cool eyebrow. “You are out of line, Special Agent Rogers.” 

“This is why you transferred,” Bucky said, clapping Steve on the shoulder. 

Tony looked from Peggy to Steve. “Ah, I get it. Hot.”

They glared at Tony in tandem. 

Bucky chuckled into his coffee. “Alright, let’s finish this up and get to work. Sounds like a long day ahead of us.”

“Peggy,” Steve started again.

Peggy held up a hand. “You are not part of this team, and you aren’t privy to all the information that I have about this case. Rest assured, we can handle this one.” Her face softened. “I’ll keep an eye out for Bucky, I promise.”

Bucky sputtered. “What the hell?”

“You keep an eye out for her too,” Steve said, pointing at Peggy. “As for you -” Steve glared at Tony. “I’ll be watching you.”

“Hope you enjoy the view.” Tony smiled, the picture of innocence. Then he turned to Bucky, and his smile turned sultry. “Isn’t this fun?” He propped up his chin on his hand. “You infiltrated my place, now I’m infiltrating yours.”

Steve clenched his jaw and glared at Peggy as he gestured to Tony.

“Let’s see if you’re half as good as I was, hm?” Bucky challenged. 

“Oh, you’re on.” 


End file.
